Despite past reputation, Castle Street's Antique District thriving

Published: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 1:36 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 1:36 a.m.

With its tree-lined streets and more than 20 storefronts, Castle Street's Antique District has become a popular stop for skilled treasure hunters in Wilmington. But the area's less-than-stellar reputation following years of urban blight still lingers, despite proof of the contrary, shop owners say.

Facts

Antique District

The Castle Street Antique District spans two blocks of Castle Street from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Street.

Rx Restaurant & Bar399-3080

Maggy's Antiques393-5200

Carolina Printing762-2453

PattersonBehn Picture Framing251-8886

Michael Moore Antiques604-0600

Adams on Castle251-2224

Castle Corners Antiques815-6788

Wilmington Wine202-4749

Jester's Cafe763-6555

Cape Fear Playhouse367-5237

Vintage Values762-7720

The Eclectic399-4551

DeMarco Studios508-4224

Anvil & Ink398-4255

Francine's Castle & Cottage Antiques352-3084

Graham's Barber Shop362-0099

Working Films342-9000

Cape Fear Gospel/Rescue Mission Thrift Store343-0366

Howard's Seafood251-7705

Lady's Hair Design763-9394

Gravity Records343-1000

Free parking is available

“I think Castle Street is perfectly safe,” said Lane Patterson, part owner of PattersonBehn Custom Framing, and also an employee of Jester's Cafe. “It drives me crazy when people say it isn't.”

The warm cafe at 607 Castle St. was buzzing with regulars on a chilly Monday morning when The Eclectic owner Randy Larson and Michael Moore of Michael Moore Antiques talked briefly with Patterson about the perceived dangers of Castle Street.

Dangers they say, and statistics show, don't exist.

Since 2004, the run-down image of this once-thriving shopping district in the 1950s and ‘60s has come full circle, Moore said.

“Let me tell you, 20 years ago it was rough here,” Moore said. “The perception is still following us and it will for years to come. But it's a very, very different street than it was even 10 years ago. I come down here all hours of the night and there's not a soul in sight.”

Police reports show crime is no worse in the Castle Street Antique District – spanning two blocks from Seventh Street to Fifth Avenue – than in any other part of the city. But five blocks west at the Sportsman Club, 1111 Castle St., Wilmington police took 70 reports in 2012, including two reports of gunfire, one stabbing and nine fights.

And in November, an Rx restaurant patron was shot in the leg as he intervened in a purse-snatching two blocks from the restaurant at Castle Street and Fifth Avenue.

Still, with a little determination, and the thick sense of community in this tight-knit enclave, determined shop owners are making a difference.

In Michael Moore Antiques, the cool, dark shop at 539 Castle St. is packed with goods. It's a pickers paradise, where, if you fix your eyes just right, you can find a treasure among the mountains of offerings. Moore originally kept shop in a space closer to the city's waterfront, but he sold his building and opted to move instead to Castle Street in 2004. The allure of cheaper rent – estimated at least 30 percent less expensive than in other parts of the Port City – is enough to keep the majority of the storefronts full.

“Castle Street is a main thoroughfare for everybody in Wilmington. Everybody uses this street. It's just an easy, convenient connection to downtown,” Moore said in recalling why he invested his money in the fairly untested waters here. “All the Forest Hills moms bring all their kids to school downtown and they all use Castle Street. There were also lots of vacant buildings, so we could make a nice two-block group of multiple shops. That's one of the things we wanted – a street we could have numerous shops right in our little district.”

Seeking a better life

Though some storefronts are now vacant from either closings or foreclosures, that's a sign of the times more than it is the neighborhood, Moore said. He said the Antique District's sense of community was born out of everyone looking for the same thing – a better life.

Randy Larson moved into the former Townhall building at the corner of Seventh and Castle in 2010 and opened his consignment shop The Eclectic. He sold the business in 2011 to a couple, but after they were unable to make a go at it, he took it back over. He couldn't be happier, he said.

“I'm probably one of the newest on the street now and I'm at the very end of the Castle Street Antique District. So out of everyone, I'd be more leery than anybody, but there are people that live in these houses that check on me daily,” he said.

The shop owners also keep an eye on one another.

Not because they have to, said Rx part-owner Josh Novicki, but because that's what a community does. “We're definitely our own sort of little family group over here,” he said. “Not being in central downtown, we kind of have to help each other out. It's not like watching each other's back to their cars or anything. It's just a tight community. We all want everyone to succeed.”

Novicki and his partner, James Doss, opened Rx in July 2012 and, with its dinner menu, visitors had another reason – aside from Wilmington Wine's Friday night art shows and wine tastings, and Cape Fear Playhouse's productions – to stop on Castle Street in the evenings.

Novicki said the November shooting was an isolated incident, not the norm.

“I moved back from New York to open up specifically in this location. This is where we wanted to be,” he said. “Honestly, we wouldn't be anywhere else,”

Moore said the pride in ownership and sense of belonging found among shopkeepers and homeowners alike could teach everyone a thing or two about getting along.

“We're kind of a model. We should be what every neighborhood should strive to be – a mixed neighborhood and everybody gets along,” he said.

Maggy's Antiques owner Betty Biaggi agrees.

“It feels like home when I come here,” she said. Biaggi moved to Wilmington in search of warmer weather and to be closer to her daughter. Her former antique shop was in a two-story house in the New Hampshire hills. There she was all alone, she said.

But here on Castle Street, everyone knows each other.

“I guess it had a bad reputation,” she said with a shrug, “but I've never had any problems here. I love it.”

<p>With its tree-lined streets and more than 20 storefronts, Castle Street's Antique District has become a popular stop for skilled treasure hunters in Wilmington. But the area's less-than-stellar reputation following years of urban blight still lingers, despite proof of the contrary, shop owners say. </p><p>“I think Castle Street is perfectly safe,” said Lane Patterson, part owner of PattersonBehn Custom Framing, and also an employee of Jester's Cafe. “It drives me crazy when people say it isn't.”</p><p>The warm cafe at 607 Castle St. was buzzing with regulars on a chilly Monday morning when The Eclectic owner Randy Larson and Michael Moore of Michael Moore Antiques talked briefly with Patterson about the perceived dangers of Castle Street. </p><p>Dangers they say, and statistics show, don't exist. </p><p>Since 2004, the run-down image of this once-thriving shopping district in the 1950s and '60s has come full circle, Moore said. </p><p>“Let me tell you, 20 years ago it was rough here,” Moore said. “The perception is still following us and it will for years to come. But it's a very, very different street than it was even 10 years ago. I come down here all hours of the night and there's not a soul in sight.”</p><p>Police reports show crime is no worse in the Castle Street Antique District – spanning two blocks from Seventh Street to Fifth Avenue – than in any other part of the city. But five blocks west at the Sportsman Club, 1111 Castle St., Wilmington police took 70 reports in 2012, including two reports of gunfire, one stabbing and nine fights. </p><p>And in November, an Rx restaurant patron was shot in the leg as he intervened in a purse-snatching two blocks from the restaurant at Castle Street and Fifth Avenue. </p><p>Still, with a little determination, and the thick sense of community in this tight-knit enclave, determined shop owners are making a difference. </p><p>In Michael Moore Antiques, the cool, dark shop at 539 Castle St. is packed with goods. It's a pickers paradise, where, if you fix your eyes just right, you can find a treasure among the mountains of offerings. Moore originally kept shop in a space closer to the city's waterfront, but he sold his building and opted to move instead to Castle Street in 2004. The allure of cheaper rent – estimated at least 30 percent less expensive than in other parts of the Port City – is enough to keep the majority of the storefronts full. </p><p>“Castle Street is a main thoroughfare for everybody in Wilmington. Everybody uses this street. It's just an easy, convenient connection to downtown,” Moore said in recalling why he invested his money in the fairly untested waters here. “All the Forest Hills moms bring all their kids to school downtown and they all use Castle Street. There were also lots of vacant buildings, so we could make a nice two-block group of multiple shops. That's one of the things we wanted – a street we could have numerous shops right in our little district.”</p><h3>Seeking a better life</h3>
<p>Though some storefronts are now vacant from either closings or foreclosures, that's a sign of the times more than it is the neighborhood, Moore said. He said the Antique District's sense of community was born out of everyone looking for the same thing – a better life. </p><p>Randy Larson moved into the former Townhall building at the corner of Seventh and Castle in 2010 and opened his consignment shop The Eclectic. He sold the business in 2011 to a couple, but after they were unable to make a go at it, he took it back over. He couldn't be happier, he said.</p><p>“I'm probably one of the newest on the street now and I'm at the very end of the Castle Street Antique District. So out of everyone, I'd be more leery than anybody, but there are people that live in these houses that check on me daily,” he said. </p><p>The shop owners also keep an eye on one another. </p><p>Not because they have to, said Rx part-owner Josh Novicki, but because that's what a community does. “We're definitely our own sort of little family group over here,” he said. “Not being in central downtown, we kind of have to help each other out. It's not like watching each other's back to their cars or anything. It's just a tight community. We all want everyone to succeed.” </p><p>Novicki and his partner, James Doss, opened Rx in July 2012 and, with its dinner menu, visitors had another reason – aside from Wilmington Wine's Friday night art shows and wine tastings, and Cape Fear Playhouse's productions – to stop on Castle Street in the evenings. </p><p>Novicki said the November shooting was an isolated incident, not the norm. </p><p>“I moved back from New York to open up specifically in this location. This is where we wanted to be,” he said. “Honestly, we wouldn't be anywhere else,”</p><p>Moore said the pride in ownership and sense of belonging found among shopkeepers and homeowners alike could teach everyone a thing or two about getting along. </p><p>“We're kind of a model. We should be what every neighborhood should strive to be – a mixed neighborhood and everybody gets along,” he said. </p><p>Maggy's Antiques owner Betty Biaggi agrees. </p><p>“It feels like home when I come here,” she said. Biaggi moved to Wilmington in search of warmer weather and to be closer to her daughter. Her former antique shop was in a two-story house in the New Hampshire hills. There she was all alone, she said. </p><p>But here on Castle Street, everyone knows each other. </p><p>“I guess it had a bad reputation,” she said with a shrug, “but I've never had any problems here. I love it.”</p><p><i> </p><p>F.T. Norton: 343-2070</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @FTNorton</i></p><p><h3>Antique district</h3></p><p>The Castle Street Antique District spans two blocks of Castle Street from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Street. </p><p><b>Rx Restaurant & Bar</b></p><p>399-3080</p><p><b>Maggy's Antiques</b></p><p>393-5200</p><p><b>Carolina Printing</b></p><p>762-2453</p><p><b>PattersonBehn Picture Framing</b></p><p>251-8886</p><p><b>Michael Moore Antiques</b></p><p>604-0600</p><p><b>Adams on Castle</b></p><p>251-2224</p><p><b>Castle Corners Antiques</b></p><p>815-6788</p><p><b>Wilmington Wine</b></p><p>202-4749</p><p><b>Jester's Cafe</b></p><p>763-6555</p><p><b>Cape Fear Playhouse</b></p><p>367-5237</p><p><b>Vintage Values</b></p><p>762-7720</p><p><b>The Eclectic</b></p><p>399-4551</p><p><b>DeMarco Studios</b></p><p>508-4224</p><p><b>Anvil & Ink</b> </p><p>398-4255</p><p><b>Francine's Castle & Cottage</b> Antiques</p><p>352-3084 </p><p><b>Graham's Barber Shop</b></p><p>362-0099</p><p><b>Working Films</b></p><p>342-9000</p><p><b>Cape Fear Gospel/Rescue Mission Thrift Store</b></p><p>343-0366</p><p><b>Howard's Seafood</b></p><p>251-7705</p><p><b>Lady's Hair Design</b></p><p>763-9394</p><p><b>Gravity Records</b></p><p>343-1000</p><p>Free parking is available</p>